Cryonics at National Geographic
The signs of the Alcor publicity and outreach drive are spreading, as illustrated by an article at the National Geographic News site. It goes into some detail with regard to the science and practice of cryonics - a big improvement over other mentions in the media in past years - including a discussion of vitrification. "A few years ago, cryobiologists discovered a new preservation process, called vitrification, which virtually eliminates ice-crystal formation. Rather than freezing the tissue, vitrification suspends it in a highly viscous glassy state. In this mode, molecules remain in a disordered state, as in a fluid, rather than forming a crystalline structure." As the article notes, there is still a way to go in terms of growing the industry and improving the technology, however.
Link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0318_050318_cryonics.html